Samuel Etheridge Sentenced to 200 months in Prison for a 1997 Homicide in North Portland's Boise Neighborhood

Today, Wednesday July 10, 2013, 47-year-old Samuel Lee Etheridge was sentenced to 200 months in prison for the 1997 homicide of 59-year-old John Frederick Phillips. Etheridge pled guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree.

Phillips was killed at an apartment located in the 3900 block of North Albina Avenue.

In April 2012, Portland Police Bureau Cold Case Homicide Unit detectives arrested Etheridge in Dare County, North Carolina with the assistance of the Dare County Sheriff's Office. Etheridge was living in Wanchese, North Carolina.

Cold Case detectives began investigating the case in January 2012. Based on their investigation, the detectives discovered new information that allowed them to obtain an arrest warrant for Etheridge.

The Portland Police Bureau Cold Case Homicide Unit is comprised of a Sergeant and four Detectives who are assisted by several retired investigators who volunteer their time to help review the nearly 300 unsolved murders in the City of Portland.

The Portland Police Bureau Cold Case Homicide Unit has a close partnership with the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab.